


Like a Sunrise

by sunflowersailor



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot, just guys being dudes, low-key confession, no one goes invisible thank god, short piece because i don't remember how to write lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 21:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18747046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowersailor/pseuds/sunflowersailor
Summary: Summary: Moomin and Snufkin talk about what they think being in love is like. It's a fairly standard conversation. Well, except when an analogy Snufkin makes turns out to be something more.





	Like a Sunrise

Something unusual had happened.

Snufkin had awoken as he had every morning, coming out of his tent with fishing rod in hand, when he noticed Moomintroll sitting on the bridge. Moomin was almost never awake before Snufkin, except when he was thinking about something that had been on his mind for quite awhile. And by the look of conflict on his face, Snufkin knew he was in for a potentially complicated conversation.

Not that he minded. There was never a dull moment when talking to Moomin.

The sun's rays peaked above the horizon, turning the sky a brilliant orange. This was one of the prettiest sunrises he'd seen in a while, he realized. The warmth radiated on his back as he made his way toward his friend. It made him feel invigorated, and he was ready to listen to anything his fluffy friend had to say. As he got closer, he was sure to give a small smile and a short wave to signal that he was ready to pay attention.

"Good morning, Snufkin," Moomin greeted. Snufkin immediately picked up the slight hesitation in his voice. It was odd for Moomin to be so reserved when greeting him. Whatever he wanted to talk about must’ve been the distracting him. Then again, the last time Moomin was like this, the issue ended up being whether he should repaint his room to have green walls.

Snufkin held back a small smile at the memory as he cast his line.

They waited in silence for about a minute before Moomin finally sucked in a breath and tilted his head to face his friend.

"Snufkin? What, um, what do you suppose being in love is like?"

It took a minute for Snufkin to truly comprehend what Moomin was asking. It was so out of character for Moomin to ask him something like this that he almost couldn't believe the question was posed to him. When the realization finally dawned on him, he had a hard time keeping his surprise hidden. 

"I don't think I really know, Moomin. Why do you ask?" he replied, barely keeping himself from stuttering.

Moomin gave another long sigh, and seemed to pause before explaining himself. "Snork Maiden was talking to me about being in love the other day. She kept saying that it was like floating on clouds, like we did that one time when we found the magic hat. But I don't think I've ever felt like that towards anyone," he explained, turning his head full on to Snufkin. "And when I talked to Mama, she said it was like seeing flowers bloom on the first day of Spring. But I don't really get what she was trying to say," he admitted sheepishly, turning his head back away from the other man.

Snufkin nodded in understanding. "I don't think I've ever felt that way either, so I understand why you're confused." 

He pulled his line out of the water to find that whatever had tugged on it had gotten away, then recast it and began to think. At this point, the sun had risen a bit higher, and it was beginning to glow even more with warmth. The brilliance of the sky was quite a sight to behold, and he almost found himself entranced.

That was when he had a small revelation.

"I think I might have an answer for you, Moomin," he said suddenly.

"Really?" Moomin's tail and ears perked up at this. "What do you think, Snufkin?"

Snufkin held back a chuckle. Moomin's reactions were always too cute. Or, maybe cute was the wrong word. Was it weird to find your friend cute? 

Shaking that last thought out of his head, he focused all his attention on answering his friend's question. "I think love is like a sunrise."

Moomin tilted his head in confusion, and Snufkin felt his cheeks heat up suddenly. But it was probably just from the sun. Probably.

Despite beginning to feel a strange sensation, he pressed on in his explanation. "It sounds strange, but it's quite simple really. You know the feeling that you get when the sun rises? It's the feeling of a new day, filled with exciting opportunities. It makes you feel warm and giddy, and-" he paused for a moment to bring his line back up, then set it aside so he could lay down on the bridge.

"And most importantly, when you see the sun there, you get reminded that it'll always be there for you every day, to help you. Even when it appears less frequently in winter, you'll still think about it, and care about it. Does that make sense?"

Snufkin turned to look at Moomin, and was satisfied to see that he seemed to understand. The strange feeling that he had experienced earlier was beginning to fade away. 

"I think I see now! So every time the sun rises, you would think of a person who makes you feel excited and warm? And a person who's always there for you?"

Snufkin nodded. He knew he would understand. Moomin almost always understood.

"That's right, Moomin. It's kind of like-"

It's kind of like you and I.

Oh. 

So that's what that feeling was earlier.

"It's kind of like what, Snufkin? Are you alright?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Moomin's voice, which was tinged with a hint of concern.

He quickly shook his head and recovered with a reassuring smile. "Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking, it's kind of like you and Snork Maiden, right?" For some reason, he'd felt a sharp pang in his chest when he'd said that.

But to his surprise, Moomin shook his head. "No, not really. I like her a lot, sure, but I don't think I like her like that," Moomin seemed to hesitate before saying opening his mouth again. "This is probably gonna sound a little silly, but I was thinking, well… you're probably the closest thing I have that matches what you said."

Snufkin fought the urge to shoot up from his resting position, opting to look up at Moomin with wide, curious eyes instead. Once again, something was squeezing his chest, but this time it didn't feel bad.

It felt just the same as when he'd first laid eyes on the sunrise that very morning.

"I don't think it's silly at all. In fact, I think I can say the same for you," he casually replied, looking at his friend for a reaction.

Moomin's face had lit up as he hovered above Snufkin, and the latter had felt so lucky to see a face that shined so brilliantly in the morning light.

The two didn't exchange any more words as Moomin had decided to lay down next to his partner. As he slowly slipped his hand into Snufkin's, both of them had made a silent pact to watch the rest of the sunrise in peace.

It was going to be a perfect day.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: my computer changed Moomin to "Mormon" every single time i typed it. Thank you google docs, very cool
> 
>  
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> Tumblr: sunflower-sailor  
> Twitter: @holyfvckgamers


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